The Lists are In...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is interesting, but I find the prek3 and prek4 lists hard to interpret, and not only because I don't know where people live or work or their lottery preferences (IB, SIB) unless stated.

But because I don't know their commitment to DC and their plans for K.

If you are planning to move WOTP or MD or VA anyway for K, and are just looking for some decent free daycare in the meantime, then you are likely to go for proximity above all else, and you don't care about a school's reputation beyond K.

If you plan to stay put for a long time then the stakes are higher, and you might be willing to drive across town to get consistent quality up to 5th grade, or feeder rights into Deal, and so on.

We plan to stay put, but are still not willing to drive across town. I admire the rest of you who are doing so. We're going to take our chances at K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only one...MV!!

Ditto. For k. We are happy with our current school but would consider a switch for Spanish immersion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Since immersion is so attractive to so many families, I'm curious why more schools don't offer solid "immersion" after-school/extended day experiences.

Because it's difficult to provide?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess my point was that these lists could feel "inconsistent" because they omit some of the schools that parents are interested in. But frankly I don't know why people care if my list is difficult to understand, or why they would blast me for prioritizing location when my child is THREE. I moved to DC intending to stay 2 years and have stayed 12. Are another 12 in store? Maybe, maybe not. But I'm certainly not driving over to Two Rivers or down to Mundo Verde during rush hour traffic just in case my Three-year-old may attend middle school in DC in NINE YEARS.

Don't worry pp, the posters blasting you for prioritizing location will learn soon enough

[Anonymous]

Exactly 15:14. Love it. Couldn't agree more. And we just keep finding new ways to snipe at each other don't we? "You don't care about your kid's education if you aren't willing to traverse the whole city". "You are selfish for living in a place where you get to walk to everything"... blah blah fucking blah

[Anonymous]

For PK4

1. Mundo Verde
2. Hearst (IB)
3. Two Rivers

otherwise we'll stay private and do Hearst for K. Hearst seems like good things are happening there and it would be nice to be within .5 miles from school. Plus we have a younger sibling and if the rumors about a PS3 starting at Hearst in fall 2015 or fall 2016 are true, then both kids would hopefully be there together. Good luck everyone!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IT is getting a lot more high rankings than I expected. Is it the curriculum/location? Would most people hand put CM above IT of they were in the fray?

I would say because they are moving and there may be more slots available than other schools. The boosters would think otherwise.

No "booster" here (btw, what does that mean, it seems to be used in a negative way on this forum) but I would agree with you. Also think that it's a great school. We were also impressed by open house and placed in #2 (behind our IB).

Current IT parent here. I don't believe IT will have lots of spots open in grades K and above. Most families in those grades have mostly been at the school for 2-3 years. They will now follow it back to ward 5 and a permanent home. If students leave schools by PK4, it's for a neighborhood or immersion school, just as has happened the last two school years. IT doesn't offer intensive language and many of those families who leave prioritize that for their children. The current buzz and feel is that retention of current families will be high and we won't see large attrition due to change of location.

I am an IT K parent and agree with this. I don't like the new location nearly as much as the current, but it's a great school and I am not going to try to lottery and move my child for a 1st grade spot. We are happy and he has a great community. At this point the only place we'd go is to a private school and those are all horrible commutes too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only one...MV!!

Ditto. For k. We are happy with our current school but would consider a switch for Spanish immersion.

Do you think you have a shot? I also only put down MV for K and wondering how many did the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only one...MV!!

Ditto. For k. We are happy with our current school but would consider a switch for Spanish immersion.

Do you think you have a shot? I also only put down MV for K and wondering how many did the same.

I also only put MV for K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Losing your IB status makes no sense. What if the school you choose doesn't work for your child? Our children change as they grow and something that works for PK might not work for the later grades.

Then they can get IB status the flowing school year.

But they should have to lottery in for it.

+1

however, you have to take into account that if you have flunked precomps at BASIS DC and stay until the end of the year, and flunk and quit or don't pass the comps in the fall, DCPS will put you in the same grade - that is correct, folks. If you stay and fail, DCPS will make you repeat the grade the same way BASIS DC does - so people need to have a right to go back to their IB school after precomps at BASIS DC to avoid REPEATING the same grade in DCPS the following year. Absolutely ridiculous because 6th grade at BASIS DC is much more rigorous than anywhere, which is why no social promotion = flunk out. However, if you think you have no chance at staying and passing, or have concluded that BASIS DC is too much work YOU MUST GO BACK TO YOUR IB ES/MS/HS BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR OR DCPS WILL MAKE YOU REPEAT THE YEAR THE SAME WAY BASIS DC WILL

[Anonymous]

I do not think Lee is 100% chance of getting in at all. Well before the deadline I was told that over 200 people already had ranked the school; I had not submitted at that point and I'll bet lots of others had not either. They want like, what, about 70 kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1)MV (2%)
2) Marie Reed Dual (IB) (Pretty sure thing if we are willing to wait until August)
3) Powell Dual Language (0% first round,maybe 25% if we wait until August)
4) Bancroft (0%)
5) Cleveland Dual Language (15%)
6) Ross (0%)
7) Capitol Montessori (12%)
8) DC Bilingual (?)
9) Appletree CH (Pretty sure thing if we wait until August)
10) Lee Montessori (?)

Also Lamb (12% if we wait until August), Stokes (0%), and SHIning Stars (30%)

My priorities are Spanish immersion (one or two way), followed by Montessori with adjustments for proximity and skewed perceptions of program quality. I have also included my estimated odds of getting into each as a one shot based on fact, rumor, and innuendo.

I have to say that I think your probabilities of getting in are way off. Shining Stars should be at 100%. The Principal said they went through the entire waitlist last year. Plus, with all the changes going on there, I think it will be a lot less desirable. LAMB I think may be 12% if you wait til September/October and only if you are willing to go to the NE location. My understanding is that the NW location has seats snagged by sibs and by those who are lucky enough to get a slot in the initial lottery. Stokes is higher too this year, since they have more spots than usual this year. Lee Montessori I'd put at 100%. Bad location for many, new school with no sibs, and Montessori--which works for some but not all kids. Marie Reed did go through its entire English only list last year, but dual language was in much higher demand, according to the principal, and he said several people got off in October. So by August, I don't think the dual language program is a sure thing.

I fully accept that my forecasts may lack information. In fact, this is exactly the kind of pointless discussion I was hoping to generate to sustain me through this month, for is not this the DC parent's version of March Madness, and should we not kibbitz about our brackets?

We are IB for Marie Reed, so I think our odds are pretty good for the start of school.

I will defer to your superior info on Shining Stars. I also think your point about the LAMB campuses is well taken; the commute to that location may finish me off. I'm not sure that it matters that Stokes has 5 or 10 more spots. That may just move them into MV territory in terms of odds.

Lee is an interesting case. As a previous poster indicate, it seems to be choice #12 for a lot of people. Are the people who choose Lee as #12 the same wide-eyed people who have packed choices 1-11 with MV, Two Rivers, IT etc., or are they the pragmatic realists that have dotted their applications with Appletree and a school where they have proximity preference?

[Anonymous]

What I find interesting about this thread is how many people (myself included) are in a school the love but rolled the dice again.

[Anonymous]

Then do you really love it? Just a thought. You probably do.

[Anonymous]

Love the March Madness/bracket analogy!!! Indeed my friend!!